WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• WEC Energy Group hit a new 12-month high at $117.20 after being upgraded from a neutral to a buy rating by LADENBURG THALM/SH.
• Various brokerages have raised their price targets for WEC, with Scotiabank increasing theirs to $129.00 and Citigroup setting a target of $131.00, reflecting positive sentiment among analysts.
• Insider activity showed significant sales, with Director Gale E. Klappa selling 35,000 shares and EVP Molly A. Mulroy selling 4,030 shares, indicating a notable change in ownership percentages.

WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. The company traded as high as $117.20 and last traded at $116.58, with a volume of 208080 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $114.97.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on WEC. UBS Group lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Citigroup began coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $131.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.73, for a total transaction of $3,875,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 274,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,447,317.37. This represents a 11.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Molly A. Mulroy sold 4,030 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.33, for a total value of $444,629.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at $643,113.57. This trade represents a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 68,448 shares of company stock worth $7,581,132. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 37.4% in the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,213 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 874 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $210,000. First Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 6.9% in the third quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 3,155 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 14.5% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,892 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thomasville National Bank lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.7% in the third quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 190,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $21,802,000 after buying an additional 3,199 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $37.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $110.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.87%. As a group, analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.8925 per share. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.39%.

About WEC Energy Group

WEC Energy Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides regulated natural gas and electricity, and renewable and nonregulated renewable energy services in the United States. It operates through Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, and Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure segments.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.